Married Couple's Allowance: a tax cut for older couples in 2026

Married Couple's Allowance (MCA) is a special tax break for married couples and civil partners where at least one person was born before 6 April 1935. According to GOV.UK, it can cut your tax bill by between £436 and £1,127 a year.

How is it different from Marriage Allowance?

These are two separate reliefs that are easily confused. Marriage Allowance is for couples where both were born on or after 6 April 1935 and lets one partner transfer part of their Personal Allowance. Married Couple's Allowance is for older couples where someone was born before that date. You cannot receive both at once. Because the cut-off is a birth date before 6 April 1935, in practice this is about people in their 90s.

How much is it worth?

MCA is not a deduction from your income — it is a reduction in the tax you pay, worth 10% of the allowance amount. In 2026/27 the allowance itself runs from £4,530 to £11,700, so 10% of that range is roughly £453 to £1,170 a year; GOV.UK gives the current range as £436 to £1,127. The MCA calculator on GOV.UK works out the exact figure for your couple, as it depends on income.

Whose income counts?

It depends on when you married. For marriages before 5 December 2005, the husband's income is used. For marriages and civil partnerships on or after that date, it is the income of the higher earner. A higher income tapers the allowance down, but never below the minimum level of £4,530.

Half in the first year, a full year at the end

In the year you marry, the allowance is not given in full but reduced by a twelfth for each month before the wedding, as the tax year ends on 5 April. In the year a spouse dies, however, the full year's allowance is still due — a detail families often miss.

How do you claim, and can you share it?

The allowance is not given automatically — you must claim it from HMRC by phone or through your personal tax account, or enter it on your Self Assessment return. Couples can split the minimum amount of the allowance equally or transfer it wholly to one partner by both completing Form 18 before the start of the tax year. If you were eligible but never claimed, HMRC can reassess earlier years and refund the overpaid tax.